NFL’s Hammer Hits – Local coaches weigh in on suspension

It’s the sports story every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to be talking about – the NFL’s decision to suspend New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton for one year because of his alleged knowledge of a gambling ring within the organization.

Our local prep football coaches are no different – they, too, are keeping up with every twist and turn of this developing NFL saga.

With the punishment handed down and the Saints beginning to move forward without the coach, several high school coaches gave their thoughts on the NFL’s ruling and also what the Black and Gold must do to stay afloat in the midst of their current turmoil.

The one common theme among those asked?

The Saints have a lot of work to do to recover from the league’s harsh penalties.

“This is going to be a tough one to swallow for the Saints,” South Terrebonne coach Richard Curlin said. “Clearly, the team was in the wrong and clearly they deserved to be punished. Whether or not what they got was the right amount, I don’t know. To me, it was a little bit harsh. Taking away the coach for a full year? That’s shocking. I didn’t expect it to be that bad. And I don’t think that they did, either.”

“I don’t know the extent or the details of the investigation or anything, but just from the outside looking in, it sure seems like the penalties were extremely, extremely harsh,” Morgan City coach Brandon Nowlin said. “Anytime you’re suspending someone that’s high ranking within an NFL organization for a full year, that’s obviously a very stiff penalty.”

The reason the coaches believe losing Payton is such a big blow to the Saints is because of the many roles he fills within the team.

Terrebonne coach Gary Hill said it will be tough to replace Payton because of the coach’s ability to handle two jobs at one time.

“I think losing the head coach for a full year is going to be pretty devastating to a lot of the players,” Hill said. “It’s really going to affect their psyche. … Because with Payton, you’re losing the leadership and locker room control as the head coach, but that’s also your play caller, too.”

“As much as you want to keep it the same, with Coach Payton not there, things are going to be different,” Houma Christian assistant coach Chad Callais added.

Curlin agreed and said anyone needing proof about the difficulty of the transition can look back to last season and how the team’s offense “lost rhythm” during the weeks Payton was sidelined with a knee and leg injury.

“Just look at that time he was injured last year,” Curlin said. “Until he was able to get back down on the sidelines, it seemed to be affecting them quite a bit.

Payton being gone is one thing – Nowlin said he is equally concerned about the team’s loss of draft picks, which he said cripples the team’s foundation.

“The suspensions are set – that’s something that just affects you a set amount of time,” Nowlins said. The draft picks is a different deal. That is something that affects you for the next three to five years. The impacts of this are going to be very far reaching.”

But even with all the bad surrounding the team, all is not lost. If, of course, quarterback Drew Brees is given a contract extension, that is.

The one topic that all of the coaches seemed to agree on was the need to tie down Brees as soon as possible.

The coaches said that should have been done long before the suspensions were laid out.

“Now, it’s going to be more important than ever that they’ve got Drew,” Curlin said. “His leadership will really help to make up for a lot of what will be missing with Payton not there.”

“Oh yeah, that’s very important,” Hill said. “They need to tie him down and make sure that he’s happy and fully focused on the upcoming season.”

If Brees is, in fact, under a new long-term deal, Callais said he believes the Saints have enough talent to be potent on offense.

“Coaches can coach, but it’s players who make the plays,” Callais said. “You look at the numbers Brees had last year. That’s not all coaching. That’s just a great player making great things happen.”

Nowlin agreed and said the team’s offense should still be a force.

He said his concern lies along the defensive side, where the team is awaiting ruling on suspensions for players who were allegedly involved in the bounty program.

“You’re looking at an area that already was glittered with some holes now being even more depleted,” Nowlin said. “I know they said Vilma was maybe a guy that’d be looking at a suspension. And a couple of other guys, as well. That’s a really big challenge the team will face.”

With the external turmoil fogging the air, Nowlin, Callais, Hill and Curlin were all asked what the Saints must do to succeed in 2012-13.

The answers varied slightly from each. But the common theme was the same – unity.

All of the coaches said they could see the Saints either making the playoffs or crashing to a disastrous season.

What will make that difference will be locker room chemistry and ability to block out outside distractions.

“They need to band together and just go play ball,” Curlin said. “If they do that, they can still be successful.”

“I guess now is the time where we’ll truly find out how strong of leaders the Saints have had,” Callais said. “Because their leadership is surely being tested right now.

“They can still make a run at the playoffs and winning a division and everything like that. Winning a Super Bowl? That’s a stretch, maybe. But that’s a stretch in the NFL in any year. This team has the chance to still be OK.”

In this Feb. 7, 2010 file photo, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, left, celebrates after winning the NFL Super Bowl XLIV football game in Miami. Saints head coach Sean Payton was suspended without pay for the 2012 season by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was banned indefinitely on Wednesday, March 21, 2012, because of the team’s bounty program that targeted opposing players.

ASSOCIATED PRESS